South Africa denies report it plans to sack head of $150 bln state pension fund

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Treasury on Thursday denied a newspaper report that it was about to fire the head of the state-owned Public Investment Corporation and said the report was baseless.

Citing unnamed sources, The Star said the chief executive of Africa’s biggest pension fund, Dan Matjila, would be replaced by a member of the board this week.

“These allegations are unfounded, baseless and are causing unnecessary panic over an internal matter at the PIC. There are no preconceived plans whatsoever to remove Dr Matjila,” Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi said in a statement.

“The PIC board has indeed called for a meeting on Friday with the CEO, but this is to discuss and get clarification from him on internal matters,” Buthelezi said.

The PIC manages around 2 trillion rand ($151.57 billion) in assets on behalf of government employees and is chaired by the deputy finance minister. It holds a large share of South Africa’s government bonds as well as stakes in Lonmin, Anglo American and Barclays Africa